


Among the Stars

by thedemonkingawakes



Series: The Love We Deserve [4]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Oliver needs a hug, Oliver remembers the wine, Spoilers for Episode: s03e01, Spoilers for Episode: s03e02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-19
Updated: 2014-10-19
Packaged: 2018-02-21 17:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2477198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedemonkingawakes/pseuds/thedemonkingawakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“John, I don’t want to die down here.”<br/>“So don’t, Oliver.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Among the Stars

“John, I don’t want to die down here.”

“So don’t, Oliver.”

~*~*~

Oliver climbed up the side of Verdant, forgoing cloak and quiver. He lay down on the roof, looking up at the stars. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he finally let them fall, not needing to keep up the strong front on the cold, empty rooftop.

What he had said to Diggle was true; he didn’t want to die a vigilante, he didn’t want to die like Sara. Seeing Sara lying dead on the table, three arrows protruding from her chest, it had made him realize that. She had died alone, dead before Laurel reached her.  

He didn’t want to die like Tommy either, not getting a chance to say goodbye to the people who matter. For a moment, the only person Oliver wanted the chance to say goodbye to was Thea. Then, the list grew longer: Felicity, Diggle, Roy, Laurel…

Oliver’s phone rang, drawing him out of his thoughts. He sat up, wiping the tears off his face, and answered the phone.

“Oliver.” Roy’s voice drifted from the phone’s speakers.

“What is it Roy?” Oliver’s voice came out harsher than he intended.

“I was looking into who killed...into other archers, and I came across something from a couple of years ago about a Dark Archer. Apparently, he disappeared around the same time as the Undertaking, but they never found his body.”

“Why were you looking into it? Where's Felicity?"

"She didn't tell you? Felicity accepted a job offer from Ray Palmer."

Oliver sighed.

"Anyway, this Dark Archer, from the few reports I could find-"

Oliver cut him off. "It's not him."

He hung up before Roy could respond.

The stars were bright overhead as Oliver dialed a familiar number on his phone. The phone rang and rang until eventually it went to voicemail.

"Hi. You've reached Felicity Smoak. Please leave a message. If you're someone important, well then you probably know where to find me."  The message ended, cutting off Felicity's babbling.

Oliver didn't leave a message. He hung up and tossed the phone across the roof. Laying back against the cold roof, Oliver missed Sara and Tommy and everyone else he had lost since his crusade began.

His phone rang again, but Oliver ignored it.

“Oliver, it’s Felicity. I saw you called. Is something up? Call me back.”

Oliver reached across the roof and grabbed his phone before Felicity hung up. “Hey.”

“Hi. Did something happen?”

“No. I just wanted to talk to someone. Can I meet you somewhere?”

“Oliver, where are you?”

“Verdant.”

Oliver heard Felicity sigh. “I can be there in ten minutes.”

“Great.” Oliver hung up his phone and tucked it into his pocket. Swiftly he climbed down from the roof and made his way into the city. He had a few things to do before Felicity showed up.

~*~*~

Felicity walked towards Verdant, pulling her coat more tightly around her to ward off the cold. In the darkness, the abandoned club looked lonely and foreboding. She shivered slightly as she passed through the doorway into the club’s interior.

“Oliver?” Her voice echoed around the empty space.

“Outside.” Oliver called.

She walked out Verdant’s back entrance and found Oliver leaning against the wall. Even in the dark, she could see the red rimming his eyes, although whether it was from cold or tears she wasn’t sure.

“Come on.” Oliver boosted her up onto the low patio roof before jumping up himself.

Felicity sat down in the middle of the roof, as far from the edge as she could and looked at Oliver. “What’s up Oliver? You sounded...strange on the phone.”

Oliver didn’t reply. Instead he reached for the bag on the edge of the roof and set it between him and Felicity. “I got takeout. Big Belly Burger.”

Felicity smiled slightly. She reached into the bag and pulled out a burger, taking a bite of it before she said anything. “So, you wanted to talk…?”

“I guess I really just wanted company. Everything’s changed,” _Now that Sara is gone._ “and I just...I needed something familiar, something I could trust.”

“Oliver, are you okay?”

Oliver opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Instead, he just shook his head. Felicity scooted closer to him, forcing herself not to look down at the ground below. She didn’t say anything, just sat there next to Oliver for a long time.

“I don’t want to die like Sara.”

Felicity looked up at Oliver, surprised.

“When I came home after five years on Lian Yu, my plans didn’t extend beyond crossing the names off my father’s list. I guess I thought that once that was done, once I had completed my father’s last wish, I would give it up and go back to just being Oliver Queen. After Tommy died, that changed. I needed to do something, anything, so that Tommy’s death wasn’t meaningless, so I threw myself into saving this city. After my mother died, I just dove farther in. I thought I had no one left, no one to really care if I died. But seeing Sara lying on that table, I looked around and realized just how many people I would be leaving behind. And that scares me."

Oliver took a deep breath before he continued. "I don't want to just be the Arrow anymore. I want to be Oliver Queen again, not the Oliver Queen I was before Lian Yu, but the one I was when I first got back. ”

“Then why don’t you? Oliver, you’re the only one who’s stopping you.”

“I don’t know how. This life, the Arrow, it’s been all I’ve known for so long that I don’t know how to go back.” Oliver said, his voice quiet and sad.

“So let us help you.” Felicity pleaded. “We’ll find you a job, an apartment.”

Oliver smiled, although his smile was tinged with sadness. “I don’t think it’s that simple. You don’t leave this life.”

Oliver’s face crumpled in on itself, tears sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto his shirt. Felicity wrapped her arms around Oliver, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. Eventually, he dried his eyes, wiping the tears off his face, and sat up.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“You’re only human, Oliver.”

“I don’t have the luxury of grieving. If I break down, if I let myself grieve, then this whole thing will fall apart.”

Oliver pushed himself to his feet and offered Felicity a hand up. “C’mon I want to take you somewhere."           

He jumped lightly to the ground. Turning to look up at Felicity, he gestured for her to come down. "Don't worry; I'll catch you if you fall."

Felicity glanced down. "I can't. Scared of heights remember."

Oliver pulled himself back onto the roof and scooped Felicity up in his strong arms. She squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on the firm warmth of Oliver’s arms. Taking a few steps back, Oliver ran forward and leapt off the roof. He set Felicity down gently, smiling slightly.

Oliver’s motorcycle was parked around the side of the building and he tossed Felicity the helmet.

“Hold on tight.”

~*~*~

Oliver parked his motorcycle in the deserted garage and lead Felicity through the back door of Queen Manor.

“This way.”

He opened a door and descended into the dark wine cellar.

“You know, I’m surprised you didn’t go talk to Laurel. I would’ve thought she’d be your first choice, given your...history with her and Sara.”

“I can’t talk to Laurel. Not about this. Not now. You saw how Sara’s death affected her.”

Oliver moved through the cellar with confidence until he found what he was looking for. Grabbing the bottle and a pair of glasses, he walked back to where Felicity was standing.

“Red wine. Your favorite. Not the vintage I promised, but it’s the best I can do.”

Felicity smiled and accepted a glass. “You remembered.”

“Of course.”

Felicity took a few steps forward until there was only a hair's breadth between them. Setting her glass down on an empty crate, she leaned up and kissed him. Oliver stood there for a moment, shocked. Then, he set his glass down and wrapped his arms around Felicity, returning the kiss with enthusiasm.  

“I thought you weren’t going to wait around for me.”

“I wasn’t. But that was when I thought you were going to spend the rest of your life down in your lair, being the Arrow; that you wanted to do that. You don’t.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that this has a shot. Just don’t shut me out Oliver.”

Oliver kissed her. “Never.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> "Sara" was really sad and all the characters just needed a hug. Somehow this happened out of that and a lot of Olicity feels. 
> 
> Also, I don't think how I ha realized just how strong Felicity was until this season. It takes a lot to tell the person that you're in love with that you won't wait for them. 
> 
>  
> 
> The thing about the wine is from the episode "Trust But Verify" (01x11)


End file.
